1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to pipe protectors, specifically to devices for protecting pipes from harmful effects of fluids carried by such pipes.
2. Prior Art
Steel pipes which carry water are normally susceptible to scaling, corrosion, and algae. As a result, the pipes become restricted and weakened so that they carry less fluid, leak, and even burst. The underlying cause is known as "pipe charging": Fluids running in pipes create a static interface with the inside pipe wall, charging it positive (Helmholtz, 1879; Gouy-Chapman, 1910-1913).
Calcium carbonate, which is abundant in water, is attracted to the positively charged pipe. This calcium salt accumulates on the pipe wall to form calcite deposits or pipe scale, which, over time, build up in sufficient amounts to restrict water flow. The positive pipe also attracts the negative oxygen side of the dipolar water molecules; these combine with the pipe's iron to form iron oxide (rust or corrosion) which weakens the pipe. Furthermore, algae, which is attracted to positively charged surfaces, sticks to the pipe. The algae multiplies and forms a thick slime to protect itself while it digests the pipe. The microbiological corrosion eats through the pipe wall, while the protective slime mass grows large enough to reduce the fluid flow and plug strainers and filters. These three effects scaling, corrosion, and algae growth lower the flow rate and efficiency of pipes, and may cause the pipes to leak and even burst.
In the petroleum production industry, crude petroleum deposits frequently occur in highly mineralized aquifers. As a result, most oil wells pump more "hard" water than oil, causing oil well pumps and tubing to become scaled, corroded, and also suffer from some forms of algae. Many crude oils also contain paraffin which is attracted to a positive pump and well tubing and can coat them until they plug and fail from the thick deposits. An additional problem in crude oil production is the separation of the crude oil from the water and dirt that is pumped from the well into a separation tank, as a water, oil and dirt emulsion. In the separation tank, the water and dirt (bottom solids) slowly sink to the bottom and the crude oil rises to the top. This allows the crude oil to be pumped to a refinery and the bottom solids and water can be pumped down an injection well, back into the ground. This last process also scales and corrodes the injection well pumps and tubing.
In water, natural gas, and petroleum product pipelines, another serious problem is external corrosion which is also the result of the above pipe charging phenomenon, which charges the pipe positive.
In the combustion of hydrocarbons, such as gasoline, diesel, oil, and coal slurries, the primary problem is achieving a "clean burn" which requires complete ionization and blending of the fuel and the air mixture. When this is achieved, no potential energy of the fuel is lost and the harmful compounds that result from incomplete combustion are not released into the atmosphere.
In the laundry industry, the primary problem is mineralized or "hard" water which inhibits sudsing, bleaching and rinsing. Another very serious problem is the laundry effluent, which is high in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and suspended solids (SS.)
In the mining industry, especially the precious metals mining industry, the primary problems are leeching the metal out of the ore and processing the toxic effluents.
In the agricultural irrigation industry, the primary problem is delivering water and nutrients to seedling and plant roots.
In the lake, pool, and fountain industry, the primary problems are algae and sanitation.
In all of the above cases, the chemical industries have done their best to try to solve these problems chemically.
In the case of water scaling and corrosion, expensive toxic chemicals, usually acids and very expensive biocides, are generally added to the water to prevent or dissolve and remove these materials from the pipes. Although effective, chemicals are an expensive solution to this worldwide problem, because they must be continuously added to the water supply. More importantly, their manufacture, transportation, and application are energy, water, and labor intensive, and every stage is harmful to both humans and the environment.
In the petroleum industry, expensive solvents and hot oil are pumped down scaled, corroded, and paraffined well tubes, in an effort to dissolve some of the deposits and keep the well pumping a little while longer, before the very expensive necessity of pulling and replacing the pump and tubing. Also, in the separation process, expensive chemical emulsion breakers are constantly added to break the crude oil, water, and dirt emulsion to hasten the separation process. Also acids are pumped down injection wells to dissolve the scale and corrosion.
Pipelines are protected with expensive chemical coatings and covering materials that degrade into the soils. Also, in a process called "Cathodic Protection", Edison half cells or rectifiers are placed at frequent intervals, in an attempt to electrically charge the external surface of the pipeline, negative.
In combustion processes, very expensive chemical fuel additives, precious metal catalytic converters, and huge air scrubbing devices are employed to try to overcome the lack of proper ionization of the burning fuel and air mixture, in a futile attempt to eliminate air pollution.
In the laundry industry, expensive salt and chemical water "softening" is used to exchange the minerals in "hard" water for sodium, from salt. This process creates a tremendous amount of water pollution, by homes as well as industry. There is no chemical cure for commercial laundry effluent.
In the mining industry, expensive and polluting polyphosphates are mixed into placer hydraulic pump waters to reduce the scaling of the pumps, pipes, and nozzles, and expensive and polluting chemical solvents are pumped over ore piles to leech the metals from the ore. Thereafter more chemical emulsion breakers or flotation chemicals are added to the mixture to separate the metals from the chemicals.
In the agricultural irrigation industry, chemicals are added to "hardpan" topsoils to dissolve the calcium that is binding the soil and allow better penetration of the water to the plant roots. Also, expensive colloids and fertilizers are premixed and dissolved for long periods of time, to form a fertilizing solution that can be pumped through the irrigation system.
In the lake, pool and fountain industries, very expensive chemical algacides are added to the water to combat the algaes, without damaging the wildlife or killing fish or humans. Chlorine is the sanitizing chemical oxidizer of choice in pools, lakes and fountains.
In water wells, acids and algacides are pumped down the well tubing to dissolve scaling and corrosion and to kill algaes. If this is no longer effective, the well tubing and pump are pulled.
To alleviate the above problems, magnetic devices have been used for preventing scaling, corrosion, parafinning and algae growth in pipes.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,652,925 to Vermeiren (1949), 4,210,535 to Risk (1980), 4,265,746 to Zimmerman, Sr. et al. (1981), 4,265,754 to Menold (1981), and 4,265,755 to Zimmerman (1981), to Harms et al. (1991), to Liberti et al. (1993), together with published International Application PCT/US81/00304 to White Light Industries (1981), and to my prior application Ser. No. 07/833,734, filed Feb. 11, 1993, show magnetic devices which fit around water pipes or liquid containers. These comprise a plurality of magnets with opposite poles spaced axially along the pipes.
With the exception of my device, these magnets cannot project magnetic fields into the interior of ferrous pipes, much less project magnetic fields perpendicular to the direction of water flow, into the interior of ferrous pipes.
According to Faraday's law, a moving conductor, which in this case is the water, generates an electrical current in the conductor when it moves perpendicularly through magnetic flux lines. However, because no current can be generated without the presence of flux lines, perpendicular to the direction of fluid flow, these devices, with the exception of my device, cannot not generate current. This renders them ineffective for charging pipe walls negative to prevent scale, corrosion, parafinning, and algaes. Inducing a high enough magnetic flux into and perpendicular to the water flowing in the pipe will generate electrical currents and charges which will ionize some of the water molecules and the molecules of dissolved and suspended solids.
More importantly, the flux will charge the pipe sufficiently negative to repel calcium carbonate, the oxygen side of water molecules and algaes, to prevent scaling, corrosion, parafinning, and algae growth, respectively. My device also does this, but requires two completely separate units and magnets to induce a perpendicular magnetic field into the pipe.
Harms shows a perpendicular magnetic field projected into a nonmagnetic pipe in FIG. 13, but this does not describe the shortest smooth arcs to the opposite poles, since the maximum distance to each magnet's own opposite pole or ferrous casing 42 in FIG. 3, is much shorter (0.79 cm) than the distance (5 cm) across pipe 76 in FIG. 13, to the other magnets' opposite poles. Also, Harms makes no provision for a pole piece to condense the 10,000 gauss flux of his magnets. Since steel well pipe can absorb 17,000 gauss, laying Harms's magnets against well pipe, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 13, will not apply enough flux to penetrate his pipe.
Liberti shows perpendicular flux lines projected into the interior of a nonmagnetic container for attracting magnetic substances in a fluid. While Liberti uses pole pieces to condense his magnets' flux, his design does not provide a closed magnetic circuit as is necessary to supersaturate and penetrate a ferrous pipe. Since Liberti's magnets don't contact his container, and since his air gaps prevent a closed magnetic circuit, his magnetic fields will not penetrate a ferrous pipe.